Buhay Nightshift: Four Skincare Tips to Keep You From Looking Haggard

by Style Team31 Jul 2017 | 2:10 PM

There's a reason why people on the night shift get a minimum of a 10% differential salary bonus. In addition to effectively shunning all the people you know and never having a drink before sunrise, they always look tired.

The sun's UV rays are essential to producing Vitamin D which strengthens the immune system. Sunlight also triggers the brain to produce tryptamines, chemicals that improve your mood. Without the sun, people taking on the night shift can end up looking even more tired and haggard.

This isn't their fault; it's just human biology working against them. We are naturally solar powered – have been for thousands of years. What the night shift does is to essentially reverse what the involuntary systems of our bodies are built to do. Nobody can do that without suffering some form of damage, the best anyone can do is to prevent or repair as much of that damage as possible.

Here are four tips that you can integrate into your skincare regimen to ensure healthy skin before and after your shift:

1. Replicate daytime conditions.

Stay in brightly lit areas as often as possible while working, and keep the bedroom sealed from all sunlight. This may seem like a strange way to cope with the effects of changing your sleep cycle, but it's a basic trick that can help us sleep better in the day and keep our energy up at night. The sooner we get used to this cycle, the less we'll have to worry about looking like a corpse by the end of it.

2. Take mineral-enriched supplements.

It's common knowledge that skin reparation occurs mostly at night. But, since people on the night shift don't have access to natural Vitamin D, they need to employ additional measures to make up for what they're missing. You can do this by taking supplements like cod liver oil and fortified milk.

3. Moisturize before you sleep.

Skin loses moisture when we're at rest. Our skin naturally gets hotter in small increments while we sleep, and that's not even taking the temperature of the room into account. Always remember to moisturize before snoozing to lock in the much needed nutrients your skin needs to glow.

4. Stock up on skin care products that contain anti-oxidants.

Our metabolism slows down considerably while we're asleep, so we don't burn those anti-oxidants as quickly. Making this a before bed routine will promote cell turnover, and you'll wake up with more energetic skin.

Working the night shift is never easy. The lack of sunlight not only depresses our mood, but has biological adverse effects on our skin. Thankfully, you don't have to be in the dark anymore. Our list of solutions above can keep you looking fresh even in the wee hours of the night. You just need to put in that little bit more effort for your skin.